Update: Car crashes into California Nails in The Junction, 1 hurt

(5:22 PM NOTE: Still no info from police on cause/cited-or-not)

2:23 PM: We’re on our way to the 4800 block of California SW, where a car has reportedly crashed into a shop – east side of California, south of Edmunds, south end of The Junction. More in a moment.

(Photo added 3:06 pm – by Katie Meyer for WSB)
2:34 PM UPDATE: On scene now. The shop is California Nails. The car is all the way into the shop – “embedded,” as our crew puts it. Photo added. California is closed at the scene, south of Edmunds, at the moment. At least one person is hurt, and is on a stretcher.

2:43 PM UPDATE: We’re now told at least two people were hurt – a man has already been taken to the hospital, and a woman is being treated at the scene. (Update: The male driver was NOT hurt.) Fire crews tell us the injuries are NOT major. The shop owners tell WSB the woman was a customer “getting a fill” when they all heard a noise, and in came the car. Traffic south of the crash scene is being diverted westbound on Hudson. (Here’s scene video from WSB’er Kristina.) TV crews have arrived (and if you heard a chopper, that was KIRO).

(Video substituted 4:13 pm for original towing-out still photo)
2:57 PM UPDATE: That’s the car, which is being towed out of the shop.

(Photo by Katie Meyer for WSB)
3:18 PM UPDATE: It’s out now. Traffic still being diverted as of a few minutes ago. We’re continuing to add photos and video – as you can see from the angle immediately above, the crash did NOT take out the entirety of the storefront. But they’re closed at least for the rest of the day. A worker in a neighboring business told us the crash sounded and felt like an earthquake.

3:57 PM UPDATE: That photo shows the inside of the nail shop after the car was pulled out. We checked with Seattle Fire’s media team, and Lt. Sue Stangl tells us there actually was only one injury – the customer who ran out after the crash was barefoot and suffered some cuts. SPD’s official report is not in yet, so we don’t have details on cause/cited-or-not. They do tell us the scene has been opened back up to “routine traffic.”

42 Replies to "Update: Car crashes into California Nails in The Junction, 1 hurt"

  • Nancy April 11, 2011 (2:40 pm)

    While it’s a good thing for those at the accident scene right now, I’d like to know why there’s no water from the fire hydrant that got sheared off by the driver of the vehicle.

  • Kevin April 11, 2011 (2:56 pm)

    Nancy,

    Almost all the fire hydrants in this city require the top nut on the hydrant to be turned to open the valve below ground. Even when a hydrant is sheared off from the pipe, the valve deep down still remains closed. Its to help prevent the the gushing tower of water you see in movies when a hydrant is hit.

  • How?? April 11, 2011 (3:01 pm)

    I frequently shop/walk/drive that strip. I can’t figure out for the life of me how a car could have gotten the right angle and speed to get ALL THE WAY IN the shop.

  • juaydis? April 11, 2011 (3:03 pm)

    Wowzers! Watch where you are going!

  • Claire April 11, 2011 (3:08 pm)

    It’s probably a dry barrel hydrant. Cities that experience freezing temperatures will use these types of hydrants to prevent the hydrant from freezing.

  • Pai April 11, 2011 (3:09 pm)

    How does this happen?

  • KristinaNoir April 11, 2011 (3:20 pm)

    Saw this just as the first cop arrived. I parked at Rite aid and walked down. At this time 2 fire engines had arrived and traffic was already being directed. I saw a medic speaking to an an ederly white man in a chair to the left of the building. I believe he was then transported into an ambulance as an ambulance passed with lights flashing as I walked back to my vehicle. Then I called West Seattle Blog.

  • KBear April 11, 2011 (3:20 pm)

    Nancy, fire hydrants are designed to break away without leaking when vehicles hit them.

  • Marc L. April 11, 2011 (3:22 pm)

    The Aswer to your question is: A Very Bad Driver — who really shouldn’t be driving!
    The Question should be; How come this doesn’t happen more often?…
    I can’t tell you how many people of various ages that I see driving around still using one hand to hold a cell phone up to their ear while driving. After the laws changed in our State regarding this earlier this year — where are the police in pulling people over for this violation? This person very well may have been on their cell phone, I-Phone, whatever… and mis-took the accelerator for the brake?

  • SarahScoot April 11, 2011 (3:23 pm)

    But KBear, that’s not how it works in the cartoons! Learn physics, please. Like, as long as I run fast enough off a cliff, I will not drop (unless/until I realize I’m running on air).

  • sam-c April 11, 2011 (3:25 pm)

    that’s awful. hope every-one at the junction incident is ok.
    meanwhile, at Delridge and Andover, there was a Rt 120 bus incident. the bus stopped, every-one got off the bus to wait for another 120, and there is an SPD officer taking a statement from someone on the sidewalk. not sure what happened.

  • Nancy April 11, 2011 (3:30 pm)

    Thanks all! Didn’t realize that about the hydrants, but it certainly makes a lot of sense.

  • Ash April 11, 2011 (3:32 pm)

    Oh no! This is horrible and glad everyone was not seriously hurt. Any idea on how long traffic will be diverted? I live a few doors down and wonder if I will be able to get home.

    • WSB April 11, 2011 (3:40 pm)

      We’ll be checking back in a few minutes, Ash.

  • biankat April 11, 2011 (3:34 pm)

    Perhaps another senior moment?

  • jay April 11, 2011 (3:37 pm)

    That Delridge & Andover incident was related to a fight response call not too long ago. Sounds like they’ve pulled the suspect off a #125 bus further south.

  • Mn April 11, 2011 (3:45 pm)

    How did a car driver manage to do that
    Please update as to the reason the driver ended up in a store
    That must have taken serious effort

    • WSB April 11, 2011 (3:46 pm)

      No comment at the scene. Car jumped curb, went through the glass. I’m checking with SPD to see if they have anything through the report system but it’s only been an hour and 15 minutes since this happened, so hang tight a bit. (added) SPD does not have the report in yet, asked me to check back. – TR

  • coffee April 11, 2011 (4:00 pm)

    what’s the deal with all the people running into businesses? does everyone want a drive thru now?? Glad that this did not turn out for the worse!

    • WSB April 11, 2011 (4:19 pm)

      Note to commenters: We are still waiting for word at this moment from police regarding whether the driver was cited and if there was a reason for this. We don’t know if there was a mechanical failure, a medical problem, an attempt to swerve to avoid someone or something. So comments that assume the driver made a mistake (or worse) are remaining in the moderation queue. I am checking back with police again in a bit, as they requested, to find out if any of that information is OFFICIALLY available yet – TR

  • Ben April 11, 2011 (4:11 pm)

    I’m sure the answer is No, but can we please get a law on the books that says a person who is responsible for this severe (and potentially deadly) of a single-car accident should NEVER be allowed to be licensed in this state ever again?

    I don’t care how accidental or how elderly and demented the person might be. When you are dumb enough to hit a building and keep going deeper inside, you are like a 2yr old with a loaded handgun with the safety off. If it’s not the lack of intelligence that caused this, then it is some physical or mental impairment that should also mean this person was never supposed to be on the road in the first place.

    I know this block, and I know the streets all around California Ave where this happened and THERE IS NOT A TURN WITHIN A BLOCK that could justify this type of crash at this angle — ie, someone weaving head-on onto this sidewalk (potential fatality #1 if there had been pedestrians), seeing the building in front of them (property damage), and then NOT hitting a brake (proof of having no right to a driver’s license) and then continuing THROUGH the wall of a place of business (again, for no logical directional reason) and then injuring customers inside (potential fatalities #2 and #3).

    This makes me sick. Just because this person was old, they’ll likely get off without even a fine and will likely be driving tomorrow. I don’t care how sweet the man or woman might be (when they’re not driving through windows), which is often the excuse with accidents caused by the elderly (a la the LA street festival tragedy a few years back).

    If the driver had a heart attack or seizure, then I apologize, because that might explain it. But other than that, I’m sorry, in the past five years I’ve seen too many damn cars PLOWED COMPLETELY THROUGH buildings to understand how any idiot could do that (first of all), or how that idiot could be licensed to legally drive in my state.

    We need a new system. Re-test the elderly and un-educated every 5 years if they want a license. Fix public transit so the un-licensed don’t have a valid excuse to drive without a license.

    Why should operating a motor vehicle be a ‘right’ when so many idiots like this can’t distinguish the fact that a car is a ‘mode of transportation’ AND ‘a potentially lethal weapon’? Before the key turns, the driver should be aware of this dichotomy.

    How many people do you know that wield lethal weapons even though they KNOW they can’t control them? Not many. One tends to just avoid them. Those that do are often over-confident or just naive.

    Yet, for some reason it’s wrong for our state to tell these types that it’s not safe for them to be driving around the rest of our sane population? It’s the same thing with the 25% of uninsured motorists out there. It seems like little is ever done by the state to protect us from the dangerous individuals that THE STATE themselves licensed to potentially kill us with their vehicles.

  • DWFUDGE April 11, 2011 (4:26 pm)

    I was at Than Bros having lunch when this happened. Indeed sounded like an earthquake. The only thing i can think of was he was trying to park & got screwed up w/ gas & brake & shoved it in there.

  • Lola April 11, 2011 (4:26 pm)

    I’m w/ you ‘coffee’. What’s with all the crashes into buildings? Are cars in West Seattle being taken over by ghosts? Is there a drug problem among my senior peers that has them hearing whispers of “you must drive into that building”? What… is… going… on?

  • Diane April 11, 2011 (4:51 pm)

    I don’t like the comment about seniors either; the older I get, the more I get offended by “senior” jokes

    • WSB April 11, 2011 (5:04 pm)

      Diane – I don’t even have an age on the driver anyway. Some gray hair, reports Patrick. But then again, some people go gray in their 30s! Still trying to get info from police… TR

  • Jeremiah April 11, 2011 (5:02 pm)

    It was due for a remodel.

  • Melissa April 11, 2011 (5:05 pm)

    i’m so glad no one was hurt. the owners of that shop are very kind. I take my mom there to get her nails done and they are so kind to her -giving her extra attention and making no big deal of her confusion from dementia! their young daughter is often in the shop with them- thank god she was not hurt or anyone seriously hurt. I’m sad for the owners as they just fixed this place up after taking over ownership a year or so ago.

  • villagegreen April 11, 2011 (5:15 pm)

    Glad everyone is alright. Man, I guess now that Ballard is all hipsterized, West Seattle has taken over the mantle as the bad driving neighborhood of the city. Makes me think back to the senior driving jokes John Keister and the folks at Almost Live constantly targeted at Ballard. Ha! We’ve finally beaten you Ballard. Take that!

  • jsv888 April 11, 2011 (6:12 pm)

    I hope the women who run this place have insurance. They are both so sweet and work so hard. The owner’s little girl is usually running around the store after school. So glad no one was hurt seriously.

  • elikapeka April 11, 2011 (6:26 pm)

    The driver’s insurance should cover any damage to the business.

  • Saropa April 11, 2011 (8:00 pm)

    I’m so glad the owners are okay. This is the best nail and waxing salon in West Seattle. Binh, who’s in the picture, is the kindest and most caring person. She works so hard to make sure all of her clients get top notch service, and she has the sweetest family. This is a total bummer as her new business was set to take off. My Mom was due in from out-of-town tomorrow and I was looking forward to treating her to Binh’s super spa pedicure! Godspeed to all for a super fast fix of the storefront.

  • tristen April 11, 2011 (8:28 pm)

    Id appreciate it if people would stop writing stuff about my grandfather. it was an accident, end of story!

  • jiggers April 11, 2011 (8:33 pm)

    Oh no..were are the women going to get their nails dolled up now?

  • Concerned Parent April 12, 2011 (7:39 am)

    Tristen … it may be your grandfather, but it could have been a very serious accident! Thank God it wasn’t. I don’t know you or him, but maybe it’s time to hang up the keys, maybe not. I don’t think anyone means harm to your grandfather, infact I have compassion for him! It’s just thoughts that go through peoples heads when something like this happen. Take care and I’m so glad you love and protect your grandpa, he is a lucky man to have you.

  • NotMe April 12, 2011 (9:41 am)

    Hey “Concerned Parent” – doesn’t it concern you that people’s first reaction is so passive agressive? The comments such as “Oh well, it needed remodeling” are pretty harmless, not to mention funny – but to conclude it was because of a senior moment or to hang up the keys before you even know any facts or even what happened is pretty lame. Maybe the driver was avoiding a jaywalking mom pushing a stroller of twins…

  • Ben April 12, 2011 (1:36 pm)

    Tristen — nobody knew it was your grandfather, so nobody is ‘writing stuff’ about your grandfather.

    Rather than ask us not to vent our frustrations about horrific events in this community, maybe you should apologize for your grandfathers MISTAKE — accident or not — and acknowledge that thankfully, there wasn’t a death involved. Your grandfather just ruined a family’s livelihood…and you want us to be ‘ho hum’ because it was an accident??

    They’re avoidable, and it starts with being responsible for yourself and your family members. The public doesn’t owe you or your grandfather ANY empathy. I’m happy nobody got hurt though. Grow up and learn some hard truths, which includes being honest to a man you love and respect. Explain to him why an ‘accident’ doesn’t exactly mean he should still be behind the wheel…

  • karolway April 12, 2011 (8:12 pm)

    Any update on what happened or citations?

    • WSB April 12, 2011 (8:19 pm)

      Karolway – I did FINALLY within the past hour or so get some info from police. Story to come – I’m covering a meeting at the moment with a topic that is not conducive to much multitasking – TR

  • miws April 12, 2011 (8:57 pm)

    I lived in the apartment directly above that shop from 1978-1985.

    .

    Mike

  • Concerned Parent April 13, 2011 (7:33 am)

    NotMe, NOTE: it said “MAYBE it’s time to hang up the keys” MAYBE it’s time for you to get glasses!! That doesn’t mean it’s needed, just a possibility! Which after reading the updates grandpa probably will have to hang up the keys. It’s sad and hard for him I’m sure. It’s not easy getting anywhere in West Seattle without a vehicle! Yes, passive agressive bothers me … seems to me it doesn’t bother you though!!!

  • sarah April 13, 2011 (11:20 am)

    wow. Thank god no one got hurt, hope the old man is alright. I feel bad for the owner,hope they get that place up and running. I will go there and get my pedicure,they are such a nice peoples,we all should go and support the bussines.

  • art April 14, 2011 (3:01 pm)

    i live behind the place. yes it was a older man who was just in that building(not exactly the nail shop) who was facing south and making a u-turn. i heard something got caught up in flooring. they were already busy that night putting the place back together.

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